190-Million-Year-Old Fossils Named After Gojira
Something about metal band names and ancient fossils go perfectly well together: Nightwish, The Ocean, Between the Buried and Me and Cannibal Corpse bassist Alex Webster are just a few examples of newly discovered species given names in their honor by scientists in recent years.
Gojira can now add themselves to that list. Three recently unearthed fossils have been named after members of the band: Ophiogojira labadiei (bassist Jean-Michel Labadie), Ophiogojira andreui (guitarist Christian Andreu), and Ophioduplantiera noctiluca (Duplantier brothers Joe and Mario).
The fossils were named by the scientists who discovered them, paleontologists Lea Numberger and Ben Thuy from Luxembourg’s Natural History Museum and biologist Tania Pineda from the Florida Museum of Natural History.
The 190-million-year-old specimens were uncovered in France, Luxembourg and Austria on the former Jurassic Tethys Ocean bed. A report issued by the Royal Society explained of the names, “Genus named in honour of French metal band Gojira, for producing songs of an unfathomable intensity, beautifully dark and heavy, and exploring the abyss of life and death, of human strength and error, and of thriving and yet threatened oceans.”
What an absolutely perfect description of both these scientific specimens and Gojira’s music! Thank you to Lea, Ben and Tania for your loyal service to your passion for metal.
Gojira will tour North America this fall with Knocked Loose and Alien Weaponry, and then in spring 2022 with Deftones (rescheduled from 2020 and then 2021). All upcoming dates:
Gojira, Knocked Loose, Alien Weaponry:
September 24 – Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life 2021* [tickets]
September 25 – Indianola, IA – Knotfest Iowa* [tickets]
October 8 – Boise, ID @ Revolution Center^ [tickets]
October 9 – Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock* [tickets]
October 11 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union [tickets]
October 13 – Kansas City, MO @ Arvest Bank Theatre at The Midland [tickets]
October 14 – Wichita, KS @ The Cotillion [tickets]
October 15 – Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom [tickets]
October 17 – New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre [tickets]
October 19 – Tampa, FL @ Jannus Live [tickets]
October 20 – Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live [tickets]
October 22 – Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works [tickets]
October 23 – Asheville, NC @ Thomas Wolfe Auditorium [tickets]
October 25 – Stroudsburg, PA @ The Sherman Theater [tickets]
October 27 – Portland, ME @ State Theatre [tickets]
October 28 – Rochester, NY @ Main Street Armory [tickets]
October 29 – Cleveland, OH @ The Agora [tickets]
October 30 – Albany, NY @ The Albany Capital Center [tickets]
November 1 – Richmond, VA @ The National [tickets]
November 2 – Knoxville, TV @ Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum [tickets]
November 3 – Chattanooga, TN @ The Signal [tickets]
November 5 – Madison, WI @ The Sylvee [tickets]
November 6 – St. Louis, MO @ The Factory [tickets]
November 7 – Fort Wayne, IN @ Clyde Theatre [tickets]
Gojira, Deftones:
April 14 – Portland, OR @ Veterans Memorial Coliseum [tickets]
April 16 – Seattle, WA @ WaMu Theatre [tickets]
April 18 – San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium [tickets]
April 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre [tickets]
April 22 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Cosmopolitan *NEW SHOW* [tickets]
April 23 – Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Federal Theatre [tickets]
April 25 – Denver, CO @ Ball Arena [tickets]
April 28 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheatre [tickets]
April 30 – Houston TX @ White Oak Music Hall [tickets]
May 2 – Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory [tickets]
May 3 – San Antonio, TX @ AT & T Center [tickets]
May 6 – Atlanta, GA @ Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park [tickets]
May 7 – Nashville, TN @ Municipal Auditorium *NEW SHOW* [tickets]
May 8 – Cincinnati, OH @ ICON Music Center *NEW SHOW* [tickets]
May 10 – Indianapolis, IN @TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park [tickets]
May 11 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Petersen Events Center [tickets]
May 13 – Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena [tickets]
May 14 – Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony Summer Stage [tickets]
May 15 – New York City, NY @ Pier 17 [tickets]
May 17 – Washington DC @ The Anthem [tickets]
May 18 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met [tickets]
May 19 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena [tickets]
May 21 – Laval, QC @ Place Bell [tickets]
May 22 – Toronto, ON @ Echo Beach [tickets]
May 24 – Detroit, MI @ Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill [tickets]
May 26 – Milwaukee, WI @ Eagles Ballroom [tickets]
May 27 – Chicago, IL @ Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island [tickets]
May 28 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Armory [tickets]
* Festival Date
^ with Alien Weaponry only
[via Loudwire]
